Microsoft Ups Office 2019 Prices to Push Office 365 Subscriptions

Source: Microsoft Computer World reported that Office 2019 Home & Business’ new $250 price tag is about 9% higher than the 2016 edition’s $230. Office 2019 Professional jumped 10%, too, from $400 to $440. (The base Office 2019 Home & Student edition costs the same $150 as it did before.) Microsoft announced similar price hikes for commercial licenses sold in volume earlier this year, meaning the mid- and high-tier editions cost more everywhere. Microsoft hasn’t raised the price of its Office suite like this since Office 2010 debuted. That doesn’t mean it’s unusual for software licenses to rise in price over time, or at least start at the base price after the previous version has seen various price reductions and discounts, but it’s uncommon for Microsoft. Especially when you consider that the price of an Office 365 subscription didn’t rise alongside the price of an Office 2019 license. The company is making a clear statement: Office 365 is the future, and even though it’s committed to making at least one more version of the productivity suite for licensed use, people might have to pay more for it than they expected. That isn’t to say Office 365 will never rise in price, but at least for now the service’s cost will remain consistent no matter what version of the actual Office software it’s providing access to. It’s not like Microsoft has been sneaky about pushing its customers towards Office 365. Its website includes a “Buy Office 365” button, the first options… [Read full story]